BATON ROUGE - The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank said it is experiencing supply shortages ahead of "sweeping changes" to the SNAP program. 

"Demand is expected to increase, which will add stress to a hunger relief system already stretched thin," the food bank said Thursday morning. 

President Mike Manning said the food bank would have to reduce the amount of food it can dole out per household due to the rising pressures of inflation and increased demand. The upcoming changes to SNAP, he said, will increase the demand even further. 

“This is a critical time for our mission because families will continue to need help to make ends meet both and many more may be seeking assistance after any new SNAP cuts take effect. The fear is that there will not be enough food resources to meet that need,” said Manning. “If there were ever a time where we are really going to need support from our community to help our friends and neighbors – now is that time.”